Mail-box-delivery device.



No. 806,505. PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905. W. M. SHBLTON, 0.3. MANNING & E. 11. CHENEY.

' MAIL BOX DELIVERY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1905,

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WILLIAM MARION SHELTON, CHARLES BURNHAM MANNING, AND EN-os RALPH CHENEY, or GYPSUM, KANSAS. I

I M IL-BOX-DEL VERY DEVICE.

To atZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM MARION SHELToN, CHARLES BURNHAM MANNING, and EN-os RALPH CHENEY, citizens of the United States, and residents of Gypsum, in the county of Saline and State of Kansas, have invented the letter-box in osition to receive mail from and to place ma' within reach of the carrier or messenger, the device being entirely under the control of the owner of the box, who can draw the boxto its starting-point at any time.

' A further purpose of the .invention is to provide a device of the character described which will be economic, effective, simple and durable, and which may be erected over fields without offering any undue impediment to the working of the field and absolutely no im ediment to the working of the device.

other pur ose of the invention is to so construct the evice-that the letter-carrier or messenger can gain as convenient access to the contents -of the box as if the box were attached to the customary stationary support, and, further, to so construct the device in which similar characters of re erence indicate'corresponding' parts in all the figures.

' Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved device. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken intermediate of the ends of the device.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the simple form of carrier for a box open at an end, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a carrier for the box open at the top and at a side.

A and A represent two located at the point from w oh the mail-box is to be sent, and B and B represent parallel Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 24, 1905. Serial No. 275,610-

garallel end posts Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

I end postslocated at the point at the side of the road at which collection anddelivery are to be made. The two sets of end posts A and A and B and B face each other, but incline in opposite directions in order to properly stretch a stationary trolley-wire 10, as said ire 10 is secured in any suitable manner between said posts, the attachment being ordinarily made to cross-bars 11 at the upper portions of said posts but said attachment may be made in any approved manner, The end posts are firmly held in their inclined positions by means of brace-rods 12, attached to the posts and anchored in the ground, and said brace-rods are provided with turnbuc kles 13 in order that any slack may be conveniently taken up.

In addition to the inclined end posts A and A and B and B intermediate posts 14 are employed in any desired number, and at the upper portion of each intermediate post 14 a horizontal bracket 15 is secured, having an upwardlyextending member 15*, which members 15 serve as supports for the trol- .ley-wire 10 intermediate of its ends, as the intermediate posts 14 are set at one side of a line drawn longitudinally through the central portion of the s aces between the sets of end posts A andA and B and B. It may i be here remarked that the said space between the end posts of a set are sufliciently wide to permit-the ready passage of a letter-box G as ar as may be required.

A small peripherally-grooved pulley 16 is -ley 17 is provided with an attached crankhandle 18. The grooved portion of the two wheels 16 and 1.7 may be roughened, if desired. The wheels 16 and 17 support and mounted to revolve between the outer end drive 'ane'ndless conveyercable 19, which is preferably in the form of a wire of suitablegage, and said cable is guided between the driving-wheels 16 and 17 by being passed in engagement with u per and lower guide-pulleys 20 and 21, as 1s shown in Figs. 1 and'2. The said upper and lower pulleys are in ver tical alinement, and the upper pulleys 20 are mounted in pockets 22, having an opening 23 in the top, and said ockets extend down from the mner ends 0 downwardly-inclined bracket-arms 24, secured to the intermediate posts 14, being below and carried in the same direction as the upper brackets 15. At the outer sides of the openings 23 in the pockets 22 an upwardly and outwardly extending guide-arm 25 is formed, which guide-arms, together with the bracket-arms 24, serve to direct the upper stretch of the conveyer-cable 19 to the openings 23 in the pockets 22 when the said cable is drawn from the pockets and subsequently left free to return, as happens at eriods in the operation of the device, as will be hereinafter explained. The lower stretch of the conveyer-cable 19 passes over the lower guide-pulleys 21, and these latter pulleys 21 are mounted in pockets 26, located at the free ends of bracket-arms 27 secured to the intermediate posts 14 below the bracket-arms 24 and having the same inclination.

The carrier D for the letter-box C is shown in Fig. 3 in its simple form, being adapted for use in connection with a letter-box which opens at one of its ends, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and the form of the carrier shown in Fig. 4 is that adapted for use in connection with a box which opens at a side or at the top. Pri- Inarily the carrier D consists of two parallel straps 28 and 28, made of pliable metal and having apertures 29 at their end portions, and said straps are held properly spaced by a plate 30, secured to their upper faces at their central portions. A sheave 31 is secured centrally and transversely to the spacing-plat 30, said sheave having an opening 32 in one side, the side adapted to face the intermediate post 14, and in said sheave preferably two grooved pulleys 33 are mounted, adapted to travel upon the trolley-wire 10. When a carrier D thus constructed is to be applied to a box O having a door at its end, the connecting or spacing plate 30 is made to bear centrally and transversely upon the upper face of the box C, and the straps 28 and 28 are carried down at the sides of the box and along the bottom, as is shown in Fig. 2, until they come together, whereupon they are made to clamp the upper stretch of the conveyer cable 19 between them and are locked together beneath the said stretch of the cable by bolts passed. through their apertures 29.

Where the attachment of the carrier to the conveyer-cable is made, the upper stretch of the cable 19 is drawn sufiiciently upward to keep the cable at said point out of the pockets 22 as the carrier passes the pockets, thereby preventing the lower portion of the carrier engaging the pulleys 20; but as soon as the carrier passes a pocket 22 the upper stretch of the cable 19 drops at once of its own account to a reengagement with the pulley 20, guided thereto by either the guidearm 25 or the bracket-arm 24, belonging to the pulley.

Under the construction of the carrier shown in Fig. 4 the upper portion thereof is identical with the construction shown in Fig. 3; but in addition parallel wires D are bent upon themselves to form lower horizontal members 34 and upwardly-extending end members 35, which are threaded at their upper portions. The upwardly-extending members 35 of the body portion of the carrier are connected by straps 36 or their equivalents, and the upper threaded portions of the vertical members 35 are carried through the most convenient apertures 29 in the upper straps 28 and 28 and are provided with nuts 37, so that the body of the carrier may be made to properly clamp and hold boxes of different sizes. It is evident that when a letter-box is secured in the form of the carrier shown in Fig. 4 the door or slide at the side may be readily opened; but should the door or slide be at the top the members 35 are made sufiiciently long to permit the upper section to be raised a requisite distance. Under the form of construction of carrier shown in Fig. 4 the cable 19 is attached in any approved manner to the bottom portion of the box. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the end portions of the cable are those portions which are secured to the carrier, so that the end portions of the abutting ends of the cable are never brought in engagement with the pulleys, and there fore are not liable to be frayed or broken where they are connected,

In operation, the mail-box being adjacent to the inner large pulley or wheel 17, said box is charged with letters and the shaft 1.7" is turned in a direction to cause the endless eable 19 to carry the letter-box through the medium of its carrier to the rear end of the device, and when such point is reached the box remains stationary until the letters have been collected by the messenger or collector and the mail-matter to be delivered to the proprietor of the box has been placed therein, Then the shaft 17 is turned in the opposite direction and the carrier and its box are brought to their starting-point,

It is evident that by means of the devices above described communication can be conveniently established between a residence far from the road side and that the device is not only applicable for the trrmsportation of a l6ttBl--bOX, but also for the trans )ortation of boxes or receptacles adapted to receive groceries, merchandise, and the like.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A mail-delivery device, consisting of a trolley-wire, a support for the same, an end less cable, means for movin the said cable, a carrier traveling on the trolley-wire and connected with the cable, and means whereby the carrier may be clamped upon a box.

2. In a device for delivering mail, a trolley Wire, su ports for the ends of the trolley- Wire, pu eys mounted to turn in the said supports, an endless cable passed over thev said pulleys, intermediate standards located between. the end supports for the cable, brackets extending from the said intermediate supports, sundry of the brackets being adapted to support the trolley-Wire, other of the brack ets having friction-rollers engaging with the said endless cable, a-carrier mounted to travel on the trolley-Wire, 'WlllOll carrier is secured to the upper stretch of the said cable, and a box located Within the carrier.

3. In a device fordelivering mail and like matter, a trolley-Wire, supports for the ends of the trolley-Wire, standards intermediate of the said supports, the said standards being provided with upper horizontal brackets having sustaining membersfor the trolleyv Wire, lower horizontal bracket-arms eXtend- 7 ing flomsaid intermediate standards, having pockets formed at their outer ends, the upper pockets being open, guide-pulleys located in the said pockets, Wheels mounted'to revolve in the end supports, an endless cable passed over said Wheels and into engagement with the said friction-pulleys, and acarrier mounted to travel on the trolley-wire said carrier being adapted to the upper stretch of said cable, elevating said cab e at its point of. connection therewith, said carrier being adapted to receive and hold a letter-box, as described, 

